"Whatever production I'm working on at the moment is my favorite," said Fusillo, who is entering her 35th year of teaching and directing at WSU.

There have been many favorites during Fusillo's tenure. She has directed more than 75 of Winona State's theatre productions and still enjoys the experience.

 Theatre of the Mind themes ranged from computers which included a giant, on-stage keyboard with keys large enough for a person to stand on to a water theme where Fusillo toyed with the idea of doing the entire performance in the WSU swimming pool until limited seating in the pool area made it impractical.

Fusillo credits the talented students and individuals she's had the opportunity with which to work for the successful events, but they give much of the credit back to her.

"Vivian draws from a vast background of experience. It's very easy to come up with ideas with her," said Cynthia Jennings, '88, who worked in costume design for WSU in the 1980s. "She never stops thinking of projects or seeing places or doing things. She's not going to let anyone stop her."

"She has tons of energy and doesn't let any element of the show drop," Fusillo's daughter Siobhan (Fusillo) Bremer, '85 said. "She'd ask you do to an entrance, then do it differently, then do it differently again. She keeps stretching you as an actor (to get the best performance) until you think you couldn't go any farther." "With actors, designers, and technicians, you get to make the whole picture work," said Fusillo. Originally hired to teach speech, Fusillo's first Winona directing opportunity came in April 1969 with the performance of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves." Her WSU directorial resumé includes works by William Shakespeare, Neil Simon and Oscar Wilde, as well as Children's Theatre productions, including "The Hobbit," "The Dark Castle," "Pinocchio" and "Cinderella." She was also the driving force behind Theatre of the Mind, the unique form of theatre comprised of several sketches, poems, and scenes performed by students from Fusillo's Oral Interpretation II class.

"We worked off the motto that nothing is silly. Anything is possible," said Fusillo. "Basically, I would have an idea for a theme for that year's performance. Sometimes I'd have a theme for the next year and sometimes I'd be sick to my stomach walking into the class without a theme."

Theatre of the Mind themes ranged from computers which included a giant, on-stage keyboard with keys large enough for a person to stand on to a water theme where Fusillo toyed with the idea of doing the entire performance in the WSU swimming pool until limited seating in the pool area made it impractical. Fusillo credits the talented students and individuals she's had the opportunity with which to work for the successful events, but they give much of the credit back to her.

"Memories of Vivian include having a spaghetti dinner before every show opening," said Carl Stange, '83/03. "As an undergraduate, I had a tech background in costuming. Vivian could look at the stage and describe the character and the look she thought they should have. By her conversation and great vision, I could go put something together or pull it off the rack and bring it to her. We had this great bond."

Although she describes herself as being "bashful," if anyone's destiny is to be involved in theatre, it's Fusillo. She enrolled as a business major at Marymount College in Salinas, Kan. The school didn't offer a major in theatre. However, the nuns who operated the school saw Fusillo's vast theatrical talent and made her the school's first-ever theatre major. She eventually traveled to England to work in the costume department for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre where she would spend her free time in the company of Lawrence Olivier, Richard Burton, John Geilgud, Vivian Leigh, Alec Guiness, and the designer, Motley.

Even though she was on sabbatical during the 2002-03 academic year, she took very little time off. She directed a summer melodrama, "She Ain't Done Right By Nell," featuring WSU students and alumni, worked on a scrapbook history of her directorial work (which is a wonderful look back at Winona theatre containing nearly 200 large pages of newspaper clippings, notes, programs and photos), and traveled to Canada, New York City, Chicago, Oregon and Minneapolis to visit with former students and take in other's theatrical productions.

However, Fusillo says you don't need to travel far to experience great theatre. "It's actually all around us in everyday experiences."

"I'm not one who enjoys going miles just for an event. The things that happen on the way are much more important and interesting than the event. People on the street corner are great theatre. You don't have to plan or get tickets or travel 1,000 miles." She added in her own sly, witty style, "I find very little theatre in meetings, though."

Fusillo has received many professional honors during her career, including the State of Minnesota Public Service Award from Governor Rudy Perpich in 1988. Some say she's also the inspiration for the character of Ariel Truax, the fictitious Winona State professor played by Ann-Margret, in the 1993 film "Grumpy Old Men." (Fusillo doesn't believe the fuss made about it, saying, "It seems so unimportant…I don't look anything like Ann-Margret.") Fusillo does say she is honored just to hear from some of her former students and actors.

"When I'm depressed and think I have no talent, and people come up to me to say they'd like to have their child work with me, I feel incredibly humbled," Fusillo said.

Vivian gains a new generation of fans each year with the annual children's show performances. Thousands of school children come to the Winona campus each year to take in the performances.

"The kids would come to recognize me after a couple years and they'd try to show their friends how much they knew about theatre," said Fusillo. "They'd ask questions like 'Vivian, do we have a dragon in this year's play?' and then turn to their friends to say 'Don't you know anything about theatre?'"

Vivian Fusillo certainly knows theatre and how important it is to let young people experience a performance in person. Typically, there hasn't been an admission charge for school kids to see the annual Winona State children's show, and Fusillo says she'll fight hard to keep it that way.

"It's the best gift WSU can give. It's a really big present the university gives to area school kids, to get a chance to experience live theatre they might not otherwise see."

Last Modified: Friday, December 03, 2004 15:16 by Rhone Richard